The number one problem I see at clients is that there is no time to learn. Without time to reflect on how things are working, we don’t notice the things that we’re accustomed to not working very well. Without time to research what others are doing, we can’t make informed choices about things we might want to try. Without time to try experiments, we can’t find out if a different approach will work better for us, or not. Without time to try multiple experiments, we can’t evaluate what works for us over a broad range of situations rather than latching onto the first idea that appears to work at all.

To a large degree, Agile software development IS learning. We try things mindfully, watch the results we get, reflect on why we get those results, and adjust. We do that at multiple levels of granularity, from choosing what products to develop to writing code that works reliably.

It takes time, but it pays off over time. To keep doing the same things in the same way suggests that we know everything there is to know about it, and there are no improvements left to make. That we are already at top speed. That we can only do worse than we are right now. I find that highly unlikely.

There is always more to learn. There are ways to learn better ways to learn.

I write this post from Loveland Colorado, the current location of Consultants Camp. This is an international gathering of consultants who share information and lessons with each other. It’s part of my practice of self-improvement.

I invest a lot in my own professional development every year. I attend conferences such as this one. I read. I converse with colleagues.

My career has spanned a number of decades, and I expect to continue to do so indefinitely. I gave a talk at XPDay Manhattan in 2007 on Sustainable Career where I explored this topic. To do so, you not only need to continue learning, you need to learn things that have a long half-life. Learning specific technologies may be valuable, but those technologies quickly become obsolete. Be sure to also learn things with lasting value, such as the principles behind specific techniques.

You need for your career to last a lifetime. Invest in yourself.

When I was a kid, I decided to invent a new kind of battery. I had a pretty good idea of what was required, having cut open my share of batteries and even built them with a lemon, copper, and zinc. It’s just a matter of two metals (or one metal plus carbon) and a corrosive liquid. How hard could it be to create the battery of the future?

I mentioned my aspirations to my father, who was a chemistry professor. “What do you know about valence?” he asked.

“What’s ‘valence’?”

He proceeded to explain about electron clouds and the tendency of atoms to fill or empty their outer ring of electrons.

“So the valence of oxygen is 2.”

“Yes, except when it’s 1 or 4 or 6 or some other value. It’s not always simple.”

I’ve been thinking about that conversation since the end of the Agile 2011 Conference. Read More